For many years road maps have been printed on paper which is prefolded into a package of convenient size and shape. Typically such folded packages have been rectangular. In the past several years, laminated maps have been developed which have employed a series of rectangular panels joined together in a side-by-side array, but which are foldable into a rectangular package. Such maps have typically folded into a rectangular package which is substantially greater in size (in plan view) than most folded paper maps distributed in the United States. Further, because of the limitations of their design, available folded laminated maps open to a size which is very much smaller than the size of a typical paper map. That severely limits the size of the area to be displayed, or if not the size, then the scale of the area depicted. That means that the opportunity to display details is hampered. Furthermore, available multi-panel laminated maps, by their construction, are long and narrow.
It would be desirable to provide a laminated map which, when folded, is more compact than currently available laminated maps, but which, when opened, provides a substantially greater surface area, thereby to provide room for greater detail and coverage in both the north-south and east-west directions. It would also be desirable to provide a laminated map that has a greater size in the vertical dimension than is practically possible with existing laminated maps, while still permitting folding of the map into a more compact package. It also would be desirable to employ these characteristics in other products, such as gameboards, informational products, educational tools, etc.
It would also be desirable to provide an improved method for making such products and maps.